hi, new to this part of the fourm, debating on buying a cummins, currently got a ram 1500 4.7 travel 250 miles a week for work highway miles then on the weekend we go up north and thats 400 mile round trip would it be best to get rid of the 1500 and get a cummins? pros and cons

 

i have a 2005 model 2500, got it with 41K miles, quad cab, short bed
poor old dude died and his daughter sold his truck.

problem: most used trucks you can buy have way more miles on them and many were used in business, so they were pulled and worked hard.

I have had good luck with my truck so far, now has 50K, gets good fuel mileage,
maintenance cost are more than a gas truck, but boy can this old boy pull.

So far i am satisfied with my purchase.
motor noise is not bad,
newer models do not get as good of fuel mileage as my 05

but they may have a exhaust brake and that would be good.

watch for all the aftermarket stuff that some people put on them,
i just run the dodge filters and 15w40 shell rotella oil.

so far, so good,

 

I have never driven a 4.7, but I was not at all happy with the 5.7 performance.

I replaced it in year 3 of a 4 year lease out of shear frustration with the 1500 5.7.

I didn't see anything in your post about pulling anything. I'd say stick with your current rig until you have, or plan to buy a load to pull. It's my understanding you need to work these trucks once in a while otherwise they'll carbon up. My 6k travel trailer is hardly enough to work the 5.9 I have.

 

Maxwell is right about buying used! High miles equals more maintenance which in turn takes money right out of you pocket book. Some repairs can exceed 2500 bucks pretty easy. If you cant afford new then definitely buy one with a warranty. Good luck and i think you will be much happier with a diesel.
Towing San Diego!

 

ya im kinda leaning towards getting one, now i just gotta find the right 1

 

IF you can find a gem, (likely someone in financial trouble), get yourself a 5.9. Better mileage, less crap to drag you into the dealer for. The issue with the 5.9s is the warranty is going to expire unless you dish out $$ for an extended warranty. Not sure if that's a concern in your case or not.

I REALLY like my 2006 5.9 MegaCab 3500. It pulls our trailer like it's not even there (its harder on fuel, but other wise it doesn't care), and has enough room for 5 LARGE adults in the cab!

 

ya im deffently going with the 5.9 heard alot of bad things about the 6.7s and more of a fuel eater are there anything major that i should look when test driving it never owned a diesel before

 

forgot to mention:

last time i had my truck in for service, oil change, i ask my mech if he could install grease zerks so i could grease the front end.

he said no plugs in wear points, just bring the truck back in at 100K and he would replace the worn parts,

did not like the sound of that, my old chevy had plugs in each grease point, took them out and added the grease zerk, at 100k when i traded it off, it still drove fine as it got grease every 10k.

something to think about if you are looking at a dodge with higher mileage!!!!!

 

To add to maxwell's point, get the front end and all u-joints checked out before you buy. Dodge's are notorious for bad front ends. I have 195,000 kms on my truck and have pretty much replaced every front end part in the last 50,000. I once had a tie rod end fall apart when I was driving. Not cool when you're going 80 km/h and your passenger tire isn't part of your steering anymore.

As for the engine itself, they are good for a million miles with very little maintenance if they are taken care of. I had warranty till 160,000 kms, but I don't know if extended warranty was available, and if it was I'm sure it costs an arm and a leg.